


How to Get Away with Murder, Season 1, Episode 1, Pilot

by TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: Analysis, Episode Review, Episode: s01e01 Pilot, Meta, Nonfiction, Season/Series 01, Series Premiere, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23023255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer/pseuds/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer
Summary: Warning: Contains spoilers for the episode and later seasons. Complete.
Kudos: 1





	How to Get Away with Murder, Season 1, Episode 1, Pilot

Open to a bonfire.

The camera goes over to a secluded forest area where three people are arguing. They’ll soon be revealed as Michaela Pratt, Laurel Castillo, and Connor Walsh. The show’s main protagonist, Wes Gibbons appears with a trophy in tow. He’s played by Harry Potter alumni Alfred Enoch sporting an excellent American accent.

Michaela emotionally demands Wes return the trophy, but Laurel calmly cites a legal case in her suggestion it would be smart to clean the trophy, put it back, and bury the body.

The last suggestion causes another intense argument between the three until Wes orders everyone to shut up. He declares he’ll flip a coin. They all object, and he orders, “If someone has a better idea, say it now.”

When no one does, he flips the coin.

As it’s going up into the air, there’s a flashback to three months ago.

During the day, Wes rides his bike around campus until stopping at a building called Middleton Law School. He goes past some fliers for a Lydia Martin-lookalike missing girl named Lila Stangard.

I assumed Holland Roden had supplied the picture, but the picture is of actress Megan West, and she later appears as Lila in flashbacks.

In a classroom, Wes sits down next to Michaela. He tries to make conversation by telling her he’d promised himself he wouldn’t sit in the back row. She informs him she has a fiancé, ignores his protests he wasn’t hitting on her, and points him in the direction of the seating chart.

As he goes up to it, Connor declares, “Nice try, player.” Wes again tries to defend himself, and Connor suggests, “You should find your seat. You don’t want to be a sitting duck when the shooter gets here.”

Because Wes is naturally drawn to people such as Connor, he follows him. “What?”

Speaking some of the truest words any character will speak in the show, Connor amusedly notes, “My God, you have no idea what you just walked into.”

Professor Annalise Keating comes in. Pondering aloud what everyone has done in order to end up with enough bad karma they ended up in her class, she does a title-drop as she explains what her class is about.

Awesome.

She brings up the first case of study, and Connor, Asher Millstone, and Michaela exposit: A secretary was in a relationship with her married boss. After his wife found out, he broke the relationship off. Knowing he was severely allergic to aspirin, she allegedly switched his blood pressure medication with one.

When she gets to Wes, full name Wesley, however, it’s revealed he’s unprepared due to just getting accepted off a waitlist two days ago.

Either taking pity or wanting to make herself look good, Laurel interjects. If she was going for the latter, though, she failed as Annalise most definitely doesn’t appreciate a learning opportunity being taken from another student.

After she’s done with her chewing out, Annalise asks if anyone has any more questions.

Connor has noticed the verdict wasn’t listed.

The next scene has everyone cramped in Annalise’s cottage while they listen to the secretary tell her side of the story.

I suppose having the sectary sitting in quietly in the classroom or waiting in the hallway, and then, bringing her in front of the class wasn’t dramatic enough or something for Annalise. It could be she wants both the secretary and the students to feel uncomfortable.

As the secretary is talking, Asher receives a well-deserved death glare from Laurel for making an obnoxious, slut-shaming comment.

When I first watched this episode, I didn’t even consider Asher might be the dead body, but upon re-watches of the first half of the first season, I can definitely sympathise with those who hoped he was.

Note: This extends only to the character. I wish nothing bad on the actor, and no matter how annoying, I don’t wish death on any real person.

Thankfully, though, Asher does get much better.

Annalise gives the class’s first assignment: Every student has to come up with a possible defence to use in court, no one can use the same defence someone else has already presented, and Wes will go last. Four students will be chosen to work with her on this and other cases.

Next, she introduces her aides: Bonnie and Frank. The trophy makes an appearance when she explains the best of the four receive it. They can use it to be excused from one exam with no questions asked.

The next scene takes place in Wes’s apartment. It’s big enough his bike can fit in the room without dominating it, and there are scratch marks on the wall his bed is against. His attempt to come up with a defence doesn’t go well, and the fact he believes she’s guilty and his neighbour’s playing loud music only make things worse.

Going over, he politely asks said neighbour, Rebecca Sutter, to turn it down.

She complains about her former neighbour. He was also a law student, and he disturbed her with his wild sex life before eventually having a nervous breakdown. Declaring Wes can deal with the volume level, she slams the door in his face.

Back in the future, Conner and Wes are rolling the body in a rug. Standing nearby, Michaela explains why she will not help or even look at them. Laurel comes in with a now-clean trophy. She says she washed the sink with bleacher once she was through washing the trophy.

Considering who the victim is and the fact it wouldn’t be strange for any of the players involved to have DNA in the sink, this probably wasn’t necessary, but still: If I were a fictional character who’d committed a murder, I’d want her on my side.

The three try to move the rolled up body without Michaela, but apparently, the strength of one slim, average-height woman is vital.

I’m pretty sure Wes and Connor could manage to carry the body without the help of either Laurel or Michaela, let alone both of them.

Outside, they are promptly stopped by a police officer.

It turns out Connor illegally parked his car.

The officer expresses curiosity about the rug they’re taking out of a professor’s house, and they claim they’re doing so at Annalise’s behest. Michaela makes as if she’s going to call Annalise whilst mentioning a funeral Annalise is supposedly out of town for, and this plus some rowdy people nearby convinces the cop to leave to deal with keeping the bonfire under control.

Going back, everyone is giving their presentations. Michaela suggests they try to convince the jury the wife did it.

Connor suggests they argue the secretary only meant to scare her boss. So, would the argument be she didn’t believe he was severely allergic or she didn’t comprehend what being severely allergic actually entailed.

Asher’s is to argue forensics can’t be trusted for various reasons.

Laurel’s is a statistical break down of the jury along with the suggestion they frame the case in terms of a class struggle.

As everyone gives their presentation, Wes continually crosses out ideas in his notebook. When it’s his turn, he suggests she was suffering Stockholm syndrome and poisoned her boss in self-defence.

Because his argument for this is he has nothing but the fact both Stockholm syndrome and self-defence are both legitimate legal defences no else in the class has brought up, he automatically goes to stand aside, but Annalise tells him he’s made it to the next round.

Then, she goes on to tell the class the strategy she’ll be employing is to discredit the witnesses, introduce a new suspect, and bury the jury with so much information they’ll feel nothing but doubt towards the case.

The next day, everyone minus Michaela is in court. The current witness shows her disdain for the secretary.

Bursting in, Michaela whispers something to Annalise before sitting down.

Annalise tricks the witness into revealing she (the witness) is colour-blind. This forces her to acknowledge she might have seen the secretary’s anti-anxiety medication on the secretary’s desk rather than an aspirin.

Later, Michaela explains she saw the witness was wearing glasses in a Facebook photo. She called every ophthalmologist the witness’s insurance covered, though, how she knew what the witness’s insurance plan was isn’t explained, and pretended to be a claims provider.

Annalise is impressed.

In the next scene, Rebecca is watching a news report on Lila. She leans back on her bed, and the camera shows Wes’s bed is on the other side of the wall. He’s on it along with his laptop, books, and notes.

Eventually, he finds something.

Over at Annalise’s house, he comes in to find her receiving cunnilingus from a gentleman, Detective Nate Lahey.

Weirdly, she calls to gripe at Frank for not locking up.

Was Frank there with her and Nate earlier, and it was his job to lock the house when he left, or did she let Nate in when no one else was around and neither she nor he thought to make sure her own door was locked? If it’s the latter, how is this in anyway Frank’s fault, and if it’s the former, I still don’t really understand this. I could see her saying, ‘Get the door on your way out,’ but since Frank isn’t a residence of the house, there really isn’t much of an argument he has any responsibility to make sure it’s properly locked.

Wes explains his legal idea, but she dismisses both it and him.

In the future, Connor, Michaela, and Laurel are parked at a convenience store. Wes is inside. Both Connor and Michaela are showing severe signs of mental strain. Wes comes back with the necessary equipment plus snacks, and he and Laurel share a look of calm in the face of insanity.

There’s a transition from strained Connor to suave Connor in a bar going over to give a guy a drink. “So, you know, your co-workers seem to want a show. So, just say the word, and we can stop working out.”

This character is Oliver, and he’s awesome. I’m disappointed his glasses completely disappear by the second season, but otherwise, I love so much about him.

Oliver looks over to where his co-workers are, indeed, not so covertly watching them. He explains he doesn’t talk to guys in bars often. Connor establishes Oliver works in an advertising company, lies about his own job, and declares the only hot guys who come into the bar are from Oliver’s agency. Oliver is completely giddy with the attention but shows his insecurities by immediately saying, “I don’t work in the cool part of the company, if that’s what you’re thinking. I'm in I.T.”

Connor assures him I.T. is totally cool, and then, brings the conversation around to his case without letting on it’s his. Oliver answers he was warned by the legal department not to talk about it, but when Connor starts eyeing another man, he capitulates.

To be clear: I don’t agree with Oliver doing this. My disagreement just isn’t enough to keep me from adoring this character.

In court, Connor gives Annalise some emails.

When she asks how he got them, there’s a flashback to Connor getting hot-and-heavy with Oliver. When he comes up from blowing Oliver to start removing clothes, Oliver says he thought Connor just wanted the emails. Connor is honest about wanting the emails, “But I want this, too.” Then, he starts rimming Oliver.

Back in court, Connor simply answers, “It wasn’t exactly legal, is the point.”

Annalise uses the emails to paint suspicion on the victim’s business partner.

After court, the K-team wants to know how Connor got the emails, but in a moment I love, he answers, “I don’t kiss-and-tell.”

On the one hand, if any of them stop to really think about this statement, he not only answered their question, but he was completely truthful: He used seduction.

Moreover, it’s clear he’s, to some extent, bragging both about being able to successfully use seduction and the non-case related perks his seduction wrought. However, he’s also being a complete gentleman, and I love when male characters show gentlemanly behaviour.

He isn’t giving any details whatsoever about the person he was with, and his bragging has no element of, ‘I’m awesome for manipulating this pathetic loser.’ Instead, it’s, ‘Well, seduction was involved, and it was definitely no hardship, but I’m going to respect the person’s privacy and not share any information about them or what all we did.’

Laurel heads to the bathroom before the wife of the victim does. The secretary is washing her hands. Laurel goes into a stall, and there’s a creepy shot of her eye through a crack. She watches the wife place a hand on the secretary’s shoulder.

Later, Wes is heading up to his apartment when he hears arguing coming from Rebecca’s. A man, Griffin, storms out, and Wes tries to help Rebecca clean up some stuff on the floor, but she yells him away.

The next scene has him at party. The K-team is talking to a man named Sam. He mentions his wife, and when Wes asks who said wife is, Annalise appears.

I wonder if Sam being white and Nate being black was supposed to be an audience misdirect. Without going into detail, Sam is terrible character, and his relationship with Annalise is similarly terrible. Yet, their relationship being terrible has little, if anything, to do with it being interracial, and refreshingly, most of the other characters treat it as completely unremarkable.

Wes manages not to completely freak-out in front of his professor and the husband he knows she’s cheating on as he extracts himself.

Back in the future, the K-4 are carrying the wrapped body through the woods when they hear people. They hide, but Laurel’s phone goes off. The caller I.D. shows it’s from Frank. She rejects the call, and the other people leave.

Michaela demands to know why Frank is calling Laurel.

In the present, Laurel tells Frank about the wife and secretary being in cahoots, and he gives a hateful, misogynist response. His point of it being unimportant because their job is to get their clients off rather than finding out the truth is valid, but the way he makes it was enough to cause me to hope someone eventually chokes the life out of him.

Again: This extends only towards the character, not the actor.

After Laurel rightfully calls him out, “You’re a misogynistic ass,” and leaves, Bonnie appears. She tersely orders him to stop having sex with the students.

Over at the party, Annalise corners Wes. Waving away his promises he won’t say a word to anyone, she gives a sob story about how she and Sam haven’t being able to have children. It’s a creepy, predatory scene, and I feel uncomfortable every time I watch it. He excuses himself, and once he’s gone, her eyes dry and her face is a mask.

At the house, Frank and Bonnie are going through papers with the TV on, and it shows Griffin talking about Lila, his girlfriend.

Sam and Annalise come home, and enthusiastically greeting him, Bonnie shows potential jealously when Annalise and Sam are lovey-dovey.

In Wes’s, he examines scratch marks on his headboard. Hearing something outside, he opens the door to find a bottle of something alcoholic with a note from Rebecca. Catching her, he suggests they could share it, but she turns him down.

The next day, in court, it’s revealed surveillance cameras caught the secretary buying aspirin the night before the victim was poisoned.

I could wrong, but wouldn’t this particular evidence be incredibly easy to invoke reasonable doubt towards? Anything from headache/menstrual issues to replacing an out-of-date bottle to picking up a bottle for a friend/the office medicine cabinet are legitimate possibilities I’m sure, at least, one member of the jury has experienced themselves. When there’s a distinct possibility even someone who suffers the same severe allergy as the victim might buy a bottle, this evidence comes across as incredibly weak, especially with the argument: a person who wanted to poison the victim could have just asked for an aspirin from a friend/colleague, pretended to take it, and made the switch with his medicine.

At the cottage, Annalise is yelling at the secretary. Frank and Bonnie are sitting nearby, and the secretary weakly tries to insist she had a headache.

Even though it’s clear she’s guilty, this still strikes me as a perfectly reasonable defence. A person buying something another person they’re routinely around is allergic to and said other person having an allergic reaction to said substance soon after might be somewhat suspicious, but it also could be nothing but an unfortunate coincidence.

Annalise sends the secretary away. Bonnie points out aspirin is something tons of people buy. Annalise demands to know who Frank was too busy sleeping with to properly investigate the secretary, and insisting he properly grilled her, he nevertheless apologises.

Back in court, Annalise calls Detective Nate Lahey to the stand. She blackmails him into turning on his colleagues by hinting at the affair and bringing up his cancer-stricken wife.

Presumably, he would know better than to shoot a someone in the middle of a full courtroom, but all the same, it’s probably a good thing he doesn’t appear to have his gun on him.

This wins the case.

Outside, there’s a press conference, and Laurel sees the wife and secretary exchange another look. Michaela informs the others of Annalise, “I wanna be her.”

In the classroom, Connor is awarded the trophy, and he, Asher, Michaela, Laurel, and Wes are chosen to be the K-5. She explains her reason for choosing five instead of four is the increasing workload.

Later, Wes tries to decline the job due to feeling it’s a hush position, but insisting it’s not, she gives her version of a rousing speech.

The next scene has a maintenance man arriving at a sorority house. A woman directs him to the water tank upstairs.

He finds a body, and this transitions to a news report.

Griffin semi-forces his way into Rebecca’s apartment to show it to her.

It’s shown Sam is watching, too, and Annalise comes in. She opines the boyfriend is guilty, and said boyfriend’s response is, “I guess we’ll see.”

In the woods, the body is unrolled, and Wes insists they not go through with burning the body unless everyone agrees. They all do, and when the match is struck, it illuminates the dead Sam Keating’s face.

Fin.


End file.
